December’s Startline Used Car Tracker research shows that a low purchase price and strong finance deal was top of five factors that would see these brands considered by motorists, mentioned by 25% of drivers. This was followed by good range and fast charging (18%), long warranty (17%), a high quality car with appealing design (16%) and having a dealership nearby (12%).

Paul Burgess, Chief Executive at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Right now, we’re on the edge of a whole range of new Chinese made EVs arriving on the UK market from manufacturers that will be entirely unknown to UK buyers, so we thought it timely to look at what would lead drivers to consider them over established brands.

“Our findings are that buyers want these vehicles to be relatively cheap to buy but don’t want to sacrifice range, speed of charging and just simply having an appealing car that is well made. Really, they want the whole package to be strong – and many would also like a high quality warranty and a dealership around the corner.”

He pointed out that older people might remember the arrival of Japanese cars in the UK in the 1970s and the way in which they became established.

“Those Japanese manufacturers, who are now household names, found success by selling low cost, reliable, well-equipped vehicles, often from smaller, local dealerships. These Chinese brands may well do the same over the next few years, especially at a time when more well-known brands could struggle to compete with them on price.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This month, 307 consumers and 79 dealers were questioned.

Founded nine years ago, Startline is a flexible motor finance specialist and employs 170 people at its Glasgow headquarters. It works with around half of the UK’s top 50 franchise dealers by turnover as well as 70% of the top 50 independent car retailers, and currently accounts for more than 2% of the UK used car motor finance sector by volume.